With so much to cook and prepare in the hectic lead up to the holidays, it’s no wonder appetizers get short shrift.

But that’s no reason they should look, or taste, like an afterthought.

One Good Dish, the latest cookbook from New York Times columnist David Tanis, doesn’t focus on holiday food, but offers clever, uncomplicated dishes perfectly suited for the time-strapped host. The only rule for a recipe’s inclusion in his compilation, he writes in the book’s introduction, is that it’s “tasty, simple and real.”

Many of his recipes are ideal for busy, holiday kitchens, where the oven is occupied and counter space is spare.

Mild cheese marinated in good olive oil and fresh herbs requires minimal assembly and is better made days in advance. Rustic and elegant, this aromatic dish elevates the common cheese plate.

Hosts — home cooks or eaters in general — may not always “have the energy to invest in a complex meal,” Tanis writes, so “one good dish, carefully prepared and eaten with pleasure, is an end and a delight in itself.”

Not to mention, the best way to kick off a season of good eating.

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